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Thread: The Postal Service is running a 'covert operations program' that monitors Americans'

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    Default The Postal Service is running a 'covert operations program' that monitors Americans'

    The Postal Service is running a 'covert operations program' that monitors Americans' social media posts

    Jana Winter·Contributor
    Wed, April 21, 2021, 9:00 AM·6 min read


    The law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service has been quietly running a program that tracks and collects Americans’ social media posts, including those about planned protests, according to a document obtained by Yahoo News.

    The details of the surveillance effort, known as iCOP, or Internet Covert Operations Program, have not previously been made public. The work involves having analysts trawl through social media sites to look for what the document describes as “inflammatory” postings and then sharing that information across government agencies.

    A mailbox in New York City. (John Smith/VIEWpress via Getty Images)


    “Analysts with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored significant activity regarding planned protests occurring internationally and domestically on March 20, 2021,” says the March 16 government bulletin, marked as “law enforcement sensitive” and distributed through the Department of Homeland Security’s fusion centers. “Locations and times have been identified for these protests, which are being distributed online across multiple social media platforms, to include right-wing leaning Parler and Telegram accounts.”

    A number of groups were expected to gather in cities around the globe on March 20 as part of a World Wide Rally for Freedom and Democracy, to protest everything from lockdown measures to 5G. “Parler users have commented about their intent to use the rallies to engage in violence. Image 3 on the right is a screenshot from Parler indicating two users discussing the event as an opportunity to engage in a ‘fight’ and to ‘do serious damage,’” says the bulletin.

    “No intelligence is available to suggest the legitimacy of these threats,” it adds.

    The bulletin includes screenshots of posts about the protests from Facebook, Parler, Telegram and other social media sites. Individuals mentioned by name include one alleged Proud Boy and several others whose identifying details were included but whose posts did not appear to contain anything threatening.

    “iCOP analysts are currently monitoring these social media channels for any potential threats stemming from the scheduled protests and will disseminate intelligence updates as needed,” the bulletin says.

    The government’s monitoring of Americans’ social media is the subject of ongoing debate inside and outside government, particularly in recent months, following a rise in domestic unrest. While posts on platforms such as Facebook and Parler have allowed law enforcement to track down and arrest rioters who assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6, such data collection has also sparked concerns about the government surveilling peaceful protesters or those engaged in protected First Amendment activities.

    When contacted by Yahoo News, civil liberties experts expressed alarm at the post office’s surveillance program. “It’s a mystery,” said University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone, whom President Barack Obama appointed to review the National Security Agency’s bulk data collection in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks. “I don’t understand why the government would go to the Postal Service for examining the internet for security issues.”

    The Postal Service has had a turbulent year, facing financial insolvency and allegations that its head, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, was slowing down deliveries just as the pandemic vastly increased the number of mail-in ballots for the 2020 election. Why the post office would now move into social media surveillance, which would appear to have little to do with mail deliveries, is unclear.

    “This seems a little bizarre,” agreed Rachel Levinson-Waldman, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s liberty and national security program. “Based on the very minimal information that’s available online, it appears that [iCOP] is meant to root out misuse of the postal system by online actors, which doesn’t seem to encompass what’s going on here. It’s not at all clear why their mandate would include monitoring of social media that’s unrelated to use of the postal system.”

    A worker sorts mail-in ballots for last year's March 3 Super Tuesday primaries at the
    Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, Calif. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

    Levinson-Waldman also questioned the legal authority of the Postal Service to monitor social media activity. “If the individuals they’re monitoring are carrying out or planning criminal activity, that should be the purview of the FBI,” she said. “If they’re simply engaging in lawfully protected speech, even if it’s odious or objectionable, then monitoring them on that basis raises serious constitutional concerns.”

    The U.S. Postal Inspection Service did not respond to specific questions sent by Yahoo News about iCOP, but provided a general statement on its authorities.

    “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the primary law enforcement, crime prevention, and security arm of the U.S. Postal Service,” the statement said. “As such, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has federal law enforcement officers, Postal Inspectors, who enforce approximately 200 federal laws to achieve the agency’s mission: protect the U.S. Postal Service and its employees, infrastructure, and customers; enforce the laws that defend the nation's mail system from illegal or dangerous use; and ensure public trust in the mail.”

    “The Internet Covert Operations Program is a function within the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which assesses threats to Postal Service employees and its infrastructure by monitoring publicly available open source information,” the statement said.

    “Additionally, the Inspection Service collaborates with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to proactively identify and assess potential threats to the Postal Service, its employees and customers, and its overall mail processing and transportation network. In order to preserve operational effectiveness, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service does not discuss its protocols, investigative methods, or tools.”

    A Postal Service worker in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

    The Postal Service isn’t the only part of government expanding its monitoring of social media. In a background call with reporters last month, DHS officials spoke about that department’s involvement in monitoring social media for domestic terrorism threats. “We know that this threat is fueled mainly by false narratives, conspiracy theories and extremist rhetoric read through social media and other online platforms,” one of the officials said. “And that's why we're kicking off engagement directly with social media companies.”

    DHS is coordinating with “civil rights and civil liberties colleagues, as well as our private colleagues, to ensure that everything we're doing is being done responsibly and in line with civil rights and civil liberties and individual privacy,” the official added.

    Stone, the University of Chicago professor, questioned why the post office would be tasked with something like identifying violent protests two months after the Jan. 6 attack, which would appear to have little or nothing to do with the post office’s role in delivering mail. “I just don’t think the Postal Service has the degree of sophistication that you would want if you were dealing with national security issues of this sort,” he said.
    “That part is puzzling,” he added. “There are so many other federal agencies that could do this, I don’t understand why the post office would be doing it. There is no need for the post office to do it — you’ve got FBI, Homeland Security and so on, so I don’t know why the post office is doing this.”

    https://news.yahoo.com/the-postal-se...160022919.html

    People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

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    Maybe they’re trying to find something they can actually do, cause delivery of the mail sure ain’t it.
    Europe used to have empires. They were run by emperors.
    Then we had kingdoms. They were run by kings.
    Now we have countries...

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    I 'spose this might help to explain the unjustifiable postage rate increases.
    They're incompetent with their handling of the mail so train 'em up to be
    data rats instead.

    Given that rioting continues unabated what might now be the justification for the "postal service"?

    O.W.


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    Quote Originally Posted by merovingian View Post
    Maybe they’re trying to find something they can actually do, cause delivery of the mail sure ain’t it.
    That’s a fact. “Priority mail” now takes several weeks... It can’t get much worse.
    People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

    George Orwell



    Police dog 1, bad guy nothin':

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    Where I live, if I send a letter to the South, they send it 50 miles North and later send it South. serious.
    Seems very efficient to me, joke.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ivan88 View Post
    Where I live, if I send a letter to the South, they send it 50 miles North and later send it South. serious.
    Seems very efficient to me, joke.

    Thats nothing~! I live 100 miles East of Minneapolis, and THAT is where our mail gets sorted~!. So if I send a letter say even across the street in my home town it FIRST HAS to go to MN, THEN back here to get sorted out 3 to 4 days later~! I mailed some paper work to a small town 18 miles south of me. YES That went to MN first and then sent back to WI and got to that small town 4 DAYS LATER~!

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    how much are you willing to pay to mail a 1st class letter that will arrive at it's destination in 3-4 working days

    at another level the USPS is a shining example of affirmative action--strong unions--bureaucracy and political meddling --ain't it grand
    The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but the newspapers."
    Thomas Jefferson

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    Quote Originally Posted by Buster View Post
    how much are you willing to pay to mail a 1st class letter that will arrive at it's destination in 3-4 working days

    at another level the USPS is a shining example of affirmative action--strong unions--bureaucracy and political meddling --ain't it grand
    Well as far as myself I 'mail' very very very little actual letters or something of importance~! ALL my bills are paid from automatic withdrawals, So it is mostly junk stuff I really mail, like PCH sweepstakes things like that, but THAT is aboutt it. It was just this year I did my WI. Homestead Credit tax return by USPS. So I would not care one bit if they gave up Saturday delivery lmao. Sooo as far as the cost of mailing anything big flipping deal if they raise to a buck would not be any skin of my butt.. lol.

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    what about 3 bucks
    The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but the newspapers."
    Thomas Jefferson

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